The Sirente-Velino massif in the west of Abruzzo is (merely) a regional park, but you would be pushed to tell the difference. The management of its contrasting natural habitats – gentle meadows, deep gorges, high mountain walls and spectacular sub-alpine summits – has been equally effective in creating a rewarding walking area.
All the parks are covered by a network of established paths. In addition, lovely routes lie along the thousands of country lanes, tracks and droves and across open hillside and meadow, especially in the areas beyond the park boundaries.
Waymarks are usually paint splashes (red, or red and white) but can be cairns, signposts or even plastic strands tied to branches. A route indicated as ‘waymarked’ usually has good or adequate signing (when combined with the recommended map and route description), although occasionally it is poor. Marking can be inconsistent or old, especially where more than one authority is involved – perhaps the national park and the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI) and the Corpo Forestale dello Stato (CFS) vying with different colour schemes! Be careful – but don’t be put off.
Rifugios (mountain huts) are spread across the upland area but most are locked or spartan bivouacs. Many are shepherds’ huts or, if operated by the CAI or park authority, have no guardian (warden) and the key (often available only to members) must be collected beforehand. There are some notable exceptions – see ‘Places to base yourself’, below.
When to go
Abruzzo is a coastal and upland region where seasons are remarkably varied. Overall the climate is typically Mediterranean, but altitude brings a big variation. Winter in the mountains is reliably cold. There are 10 ski resorts (little known outside Italy) and the main walking areas are deeply covered in snow well into the spring – fantastic for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing! Summer is reliably hot and dry; the seasonal rivers disappear and the hillsides turn tinder-brown. Spectacular lightening storms and localised downpours bring relief when the atmosphere becomes too charged. Between the two, spring and autumn are usually mild and can be damp.
Monte Amaro from a meadow on Walk 9
The walking season begins in late spring and goes into autumn – late April to late October. Ideal, perhaps, are the months of May, June and September, either side of high summer (which can be very hot). July and August can be very enjoyable too, and are (relatively speaking) the busiest times on the trail. April and October should not be dismissed as they offer solitude, often perfect conditions and the riches of the changing seasons. Even March and November can see spells of clear, settled weather.
Getting there
Abruzzo is easy to reach, both from other regions of Italy and from abroad, and its main centres are well connected by road and rail.
The airport at Pescara is served by several low-cost airlines that fly from countries in Europe and offer internal flights to destinations in Italy. For most of the year, Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies five days a week from London Stansted and Frankfurt, four days a week from Brussels and twice a week from Dusseldorf, Malta and Barcelona. Wizz Air (https://wizzair.com) flies twice a week from Bucharest, and Mistral Air (www.mistralair.it) flies four times a week from Tirana in Albania. Internally, Ryanair and Alitalia (www.alitalia.com) both fly twice a day from Milan, while Mistral Air flies twice a week from Palermo, Catania and Cagliari. Blue Air (www.blueairweb.com) flies three times a week from Turin.
Pescara airport is connected to the city railway station by a frequent bus service. For more information, visit the airport website: www.abruzzoairport.com.
Ancona airport is about 1hr north of Abruzzo by motorway and is connected by fast trains to Pescara. Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com) connects Ancona daily with Munich, while Ryanair offers four flights a week from London Stansted and two a week from Brussels. Ancona is connected to Rome with two or three flights a day. For details visit www.aeroportomarche.it.
View down Valle Pagano from Monte La Meta (Walk 24)
Naples airport (www.aeroportodinapoli.it) is well served from many UK, European and worldwide destinations. The city is connected to Abruzzo (Sulmona, Chieti and Pescara) by express coach (www.satambus.it) that operates four or five times a day and takes about 3hr.
Accessing Abruzzo via Rome’s two airports, Ciampino and the bigger Fiumicino, is also simple and offers links to all corners of the world as well as Italy. easyJet (www.easyjet.com) uses Fiumicino for flights from Bristol, Luton and London Gatwick in the UK. Ryanair operates mainly from Ciampino and serves Edinburgh, Glasgow, East Midlands, Manchester and London Stansted in the UK. Liverpool is connected to Fiumicino by Blue Air, Manchester by Jet2.com (www.jet2.com), and Cardiff is connected by Flybe (www.flybe.com).
Both British Airways (www.britishairways.com) and Alitalia fly to Fiumicino from London Heathrow several times a day and can be competitive with the low-cost operators. British Airways also serves Fiumicino from London Gatwick.
Cork and Dublin are served directly from Rome. Major cities in Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are all connected to Rome.
The best start point for flights to Rome is a visit to www.adr.it.
Rome is connected to Abruzzo by road and rail. The drive on the A24 motorway from the Rome orbital motorway to the Abruzzo border takes about 40min. To continue to L’Aquila takes a further 40min; to Sulmona a further 1hr or to Pescara a further 1hr 30min. Coaches between Abruzzo and Rome are operated by TUA – the region’s bus company. Services depart from Tiburtina station in Rome. There is an hourly service to L’Aquila. Pescara and Sulmona are both served directly about six times a day. The full timetable and details can be seen at www.tuabruzzo.it.
Prontobus (www.prontobusitalia.it) operates a very useful direct coach service from Rome’s airports to several towns in Abruzzo including Avezzano, Sulmona, Chieti and Pescara.
The train from Rome is a lot slower but offers a very picturesque journey and is surprisingly cheap. It takes about 3hr to reach Sulmona and 4hr for Pescara. The train to L’Aquila involves changing at Terni, taking 3–5hr depending on whether the service to Terni is fast. Most leave from Tiburtina station but some depart from Roma Termini. L’Aquila, Pescara and Sulmona are each served about five times a day. The timetable and online booking are available at www.trenitalia.com.
Getting around
There is a good public transport network within Abruzzo, again provided by TUA and by Trenitalia. The websites above provide details of all services. While the bus network is extensive, the train is limited to the line between Rome and Pescara (via Avezzano, Sulmona and Chieti) and the line between Terni and Sulmona which passes through L’Aquila. The Adriatic coast fast line also passes through Abruzzo, linking Pescara with Ancona, Rimini and Bologna to the north and Foggia, Bari and Brindisi